I really like what Blizzard is doing with Jaina Proudmoore so far. I was expecting that they would end up disgracing her character like they did with Fandral Staghelm.
Layering Jaina's anger with guilt, and having her question the choices she made in her youth, is the pitch-perfect way to handle her character. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing how her story unfolds in the expansion.
I love the music. Never the lore person in this game, I did not know her past at all. This certainly explains a great deal. I didn’t appreciate her character much in Legion, but like her in Battle For Azeroth.
ReplyDeleteWell, I've always thought her character since the bombing of Theramore to be consistent. She was burned very badly, and now is very suspicious, as she should be.
DeleteWhat they've done lately with Jaina marks the first time I've felt genuinely excited for WoW's storytelling, as if they might put the same level of emotional appeal and character development into the rest of the game. Her latest visual rework is so solemn and powerful but completely relatable at the same time. Last November, she only appeared for two seconds in a features overview, but that facial expression and backdrop made her character come alive for me. I would love to see a subtle shift away from Blizzard's reliance on shouting matches and posturing when it comes to advancing a story in WoW. This has great potential!
ReplyDeleteThat's very true. Blizzard has done a good job of being more subtle and less bombastic lately. There is a place and time for being blunt and direct, though. One can be too subtle, such that the author's intent passes over the audience's head. Hopefully, Blizzard will hit that balance.
DeleteThat was nicely done, and the song was catchy enough to actually get stuck on my head for the rest of the morning. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't really see a great shift in their storytelling in this though: aren't all the important NPCs still either insane or affected by a tragic backstory (or both)? I'm actually missing the times when we used to joke about Jaina being secretly in love with Thrall or accused her of being too weepy.
Well, pretty much all the NPCs have a somewhat tragic backstory, but I don't think any are insane. It feels like Blizzard has done a good job making their emotions and motives be understandable/logical in the last little while.
DeleteThey did a pretty good job with Illidan and Velen in Legion.